Page 16 of Outlaw

I laugh. “A big, scary outlaw quoting Star Wars?”

“You’ll find I’m full of surprises.” He grins.

“Luke Skywalker too?” I laugh. He smiles back at me as he heads outside and closes the door behind him. I’ve got a fuzzy feeling in my stomach as the latch clicks and I find myself alone.

It really is insane that I would be happy being alone in a bunker in the middle of the woods where I was taken by a man I met this afternoon, but what can I say? Christian does things to me. If it wasn’t for my complete lack of experience, I probably would have let him do whatever he wanted to me earlier.

Who am I kidding? I totally would have let him do whatever he wanted to me earlier. As a matter of fact, now that he’s gone, all my brain seems to want to do is fill my mind with images of him when he was changing in the closet. I’ve never seen a man with a body like his.

I mosey over to the closet door and pull it open. As I step inside, I’m greeted with a noseful of Christian’s scent. It’s strong and masculine, and without even thinking, I grab his shirt from where he left it on the floor, raise it to my nose, and inhale deeply.

You’re a psycho, Claire.

I may well be, but I don’t care. The feeling that comes over me is totally worth it. I’m practically swooning. There’s no way I’ll be able to go to sleep like this. Not yet.

I glance down at his pants; they’re completely filthy. I pick them up and look around the bunker for a laundry room. Of course there isn’t one. It’s not like this place is a nice family home in the suburbs or something. So I take them to the sink, which happens to be a large basin sink that’s big enough to fit them in. I run the water, add soap, and hand wash them.

It’s hard to explain how I’m feeling…It’s like these strange instincts I’ve never realized have suddenly come out of me – brought to the surface by Christian and everything he’s done…everything about him.

Violet would think I’m crazy for doing this. I can just hear her now.

“You washed his clothes for him, bitch? Men are for getting money out of, not doing chores for!”

That’s pretty much her view on the entire male species, a view she’s been pushing on me for a while now in order to get me comfortable with making money off them. Even working at Ta-Tas was a stretch for me, but she’s quite happy to milk a guy for everything he’s got.

But as I rinse the soap from Christian’s jeans, I realize that as much as Violet wants to take me under her wing, that’s never going to be me. After all this blows over, I won’t be going back to Ta-Tas. I don’t know what I’ll do, but it can’t be that.

I do my best to get the water out of the jeans, then look around for a place to hang them. After a while, I finally find a collapsible drying rack, go outside and set it down on the grass. The thought of escape never even enters my mind. I set the jeans on the rack and head back into the bunker and close the door behind me.

Where did Christian go, I wonder. Wherever it is, it’s definitely not the store to pickup more ice-cream, and that has me worried. Not back to the clubhouse, surely. That would be crazy. But then again, Christian clearly isn’t a man who scares easily. But then again, he’s also not a dummy. Going up against all those guys would be suicide.

Still, I can’t shake the worry from my mind, so I look for something else to do to take my mind off it.

I do as many chores as I can, hoping to distract myself. I find a broom and sweep up, I dust, I tidy up the kitchen and scrub the mildew that’s accumulated in the tiny shower in the bathroom. But even then, I can’t stop worrying about what Christian’s up to.

Finally, when there’s nothing more to be done, I slump down on the bed and stare at the ceiling. I focus on my breathing and try to think of anything other than nightmare scenarios of Christian in a fight to the death with a gang of Red Lions.

“He’s going to be fine,” I say to myself. “Just relax, Claire.”

I decide I’m going to try and get some sleep, but realize I’m still wearing Violet’s top, so I strip out of it and toss it onto the couch. I slide out of my pants and set them on the ground by the bed, then slide under the covers and close my eyes.

I wake up as someone climbs into bed with me.

Christian…

I don’t even have to open my eyes to know; I can smell him.

“It’s okay,” he whispers. “It’s me.”

“Mmm, I know,” I say through a contented smile. It feels so natural – I just throw my arm and leg over his body and snuggle up to him like I’ve done it a thousand times. His body is strong and hard and he wraps his arm around me and holds me close. I feel safe – so safe, and I know that as long as Christian is by my side, nothing will ever happen to me.

11

Christian

I wake up with a smile on my face and the most beautiful woman in the world under my arm. I turn and look down at her, sleeping topless beside me, her arm and leg still draped over my body. I inch slightly to the side, putting a tiny bit of space between us, revealing her perfect tits.

Absolutely perfect.

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